1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and, more particularly, to monitoring and controlling the temperature and power consumption of a memory subsystem.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the memory density and speed of memory devices continue to increase, the power consumption and the heat dissipation associated with these devices also increase. The performance of memory devices and of the corresponding computer system may be degraded if the power consumption and/or the temperature of the memory devices are too high. Therefore, temperature and power management techniques may be implemented in computer systems to reduce performance degradation due to temperature and power consumption issues.
One method that may reduce the temperature and power consumption of a memory device is to control the clock rate associated with the memory device. A temperature sensor may be positioned to sense the temperature of the memory device. The clock rate may be maintained or changed depending upon whether the sensed temperature is above or below a temperature threshold. For example, the clock rate may be maintained or increased if the sensed temperature is below the temperature threshold. If the sensed temperature rises above the temperature threshold, the clock rate may be decreased. By decreasing the clock rate, the temperature and power consumption of the memory device may also decrease.
Another method that may reduce the temperature of a memory device is to change the speed of a system fan depending upon a measured temperature associated with the memory device. More particularly, the speed of a system fan that cools the memory device may be increased if the sensed temperature is above a threshold. The speed of the fan may be maintained or lowered if the sensed temperature is below the threshold.